Additive Manufacturing: Roles for 3D Printing and Robotics in Food Production
3D printing, while serving roles in package design, tools and spare parts, is finding applications for creating unique foods that aren’t practical for conventional methods.
Additive manufacturing (AM) of food products conjures up the idea of 3D printing — as in making machine parts from 3D files such as AutoCAD.
While there are some foods being constructed in this fashion, they are typically high-end since each food is built literally from the bottom to the top, a relatively low throughput process. Some chocolates, confectionery, pastries and alternative protein seafoods and beef products are being made using this process. 3D print technology has also been used to create intricate molds and designs for chocolate products, packaging and bottle molds.